First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 419,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FFBC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 415,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,373. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $20.59 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.